Shane De Beer, Partner, Corporate

With over 20 years of experience in complex international energy, infrastructure and M&A transactions with a particular concentration on Russia and the CIS, Shane has built his practice on exceptional client service, multi-disciplinary skills and legal acumen. A fluent Russian speaker, Shane spent nearly 12 years based in Russia and has a regular presence in Russia.

Shane's clientele is very international, and includes both Russian and CIS corporates and smaller companies as well as western and other foreign investors globally. Some of the representative matters that Shane has overseen include:

Oil and Gas: Represented the majority shareholders of a major Russian oilfield services company in the nearly USD 2 billion disposition of the operating company and related companies to a consortium led by Gazprombank.

Real Estate and Construction: Advised a leading construction and real estate company on its sale of grocery stores/hypermarkets in Russia.

General Corporate and Commercial: Advised a major UK insurance company on a joint venture with a Russian insurer, as well as advising a major foreign logistics and freight company and a variety of commercial and civil matters in Russia.

In addition to a wide spectrum of transactional work, Shane also assists his clients and litigation specialists on contentious matters, including administrative matters.

Shane has been repeatedly listed as a leading lawyer for energy and international resources in Russia and the CIS in Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500 EMEA, where clients are quoted as saying he is "exceptional", "his thinking is very proactive and imaginative" and he is an "excellent lawyer with lots of oil and gas experience." He is the author of numerous articles on legal and energy topics, as well as two published Russian-English legal dictionaries.

In addition to fluent Russian and his native English, Shane speaks Dutch and Spanish and has some knowledge of Arabic.